Display-rack.



A. E. MILLER.

DISPLAY HACK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 21.1911 1,21%,348. Patented Jan. 30, 1917. F .2. f qgal. 9

INVENTOR M (Li 7 Arm 5 WITNESSES ANDREW E. MILLER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO SOLOMON HIMMEL, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

DISIELAY-EACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 31), 1313.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW E. MILLER, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Display-Racks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention pertains to certain new and useful improvements in display racks for garments and the like, and relates more particularly to the case in which the rack is inclosed.

In that class of display racks in which a reciprocable rack member is mounted in a case, it is customary to provide said case at the front with doors which are swung to open position and then slide inside the case adjacent the sides of the latter.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide improved means for supporting the doors so that they may be readily operated, and will yet possess such rigidity that they will not readily get out of order or become deranged.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a portion of a display rack such as ordinarily employed for garments, illustrating my improved door supporting device. Fig. 2 is a view at right angles to Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a top plan View of a portion of the case with the door in operative position. Fig. 1 is a side view illustrating a modification.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates the floor of a display rack case the same being provided with a track or guide 11 formed of U-shaped channel iron. A similar track 11 is secured to the top of the case. A lug 12 is also secured to the floor of the case in alinement with track or guide 11. It will be understood that while I usually employ two doors, one at each end of the case, necessitating two sets of tracks 11 11 but one door and one set of tracks will be here illustrated. The door 13 is pivotally mounted between lugs 14: projecting forwardly from a suitable carriage 15, said carriage being formed of parallel upright bars 16 separated by spacing blocks, and having a traction roller 17 mounted between them at their lower ends. Each upright bar 16 is provided with a longitudinal slot 18 near its upper end, the

two slots being in alinenient and arranged to receive a pin 19 which is carried by the upper end of a rod 20, the lower end of said rod being pivotally connected to the lug 12. Brace bars 21 are pivotally secured at their upper ends on the opposite sides of the rod 20, the lower end of said brace bars being pivotally secured between the space block at the lower end of the carriage, and the inner faces of bars 16. lhe door is provided with rollers 22 or similar devices, arranged to engage the tracks 11, 11 respectively, and guides or tracks 23 arranged at right angles to the latter. Each guide or track 23 is connected to its corresponding track 11 or 11 by a curved portion as indicated in Fig. 3.

In practice when the case is closed by the doors the carriage 15 is in its extreme forward position, and the pin 19 is at the lower ends of the slots 18, each door being swung at right angles upon the pivot lugs with rollers 22 in engagement with guides 23. it will be noted that the lugs 1 1 are of such length that when the door is in closed position, the rear end of the door, 2'. e., that portion supported by the lugs 1 1, is located forwardly beyond the curved guide portion of the track, into the angle formed by the end wall and the front of the case, so that the said rear end of the door will be supported close to the end wall of the case when in closed position, thereby avoiding the necessity of providing strips extending over the front of the case at the ends thereof, to meet the door. When it is desired to open the doors, the latter are swung on the pivots 14 causing the rollers 22 to be moved along guides 23 until in alinement with the tracks or guides 11, 11", whereupon they are pushed backward, causing the roller 17 and the carriage 15 to also travel backward. As the carriage moves back the rods 20 swing on their pivotal connection with the lug 12 and the pin 19 will move upwardly in the slots 18. It will be noted that the carriage and the brace bars provide a rigid structure in which there is very little lost motion, whereby the carriage' and door may be moved smoothly in either direction. When it is desired to close the door, the same is started forward with its carriage, whereupon the weight of rod 20 will assist in the closing movement. As the carriage approaches the forward limit of its movement the rollers 22, by reason of their engagement with the tracks cause the door to swing automatically between ears 14, guiding said rollers around the curved portions of the tracks into the guides 23. f

In Fig. 4 is illustrated a slight modification in which the door is pivotally mounted between lugs 31 carried by an upright arm 32 of a carriage 33. Upper and lowerguides 34, 34 are provided, said guides havits pivot just as soon as the said door clears the track or guide 34, thereby helping to bring it into the closing position.

Having thus explained the nature of my invention and described an operative manner of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all at the open front, a door for closing the open front of the case, means attached to the door and spaced from the ends thereof to engage said guides, the contiguous ends of the guides being connected by a curved portion to cause said guide-engaging means to travel in a curved pathway as it passes from one guide to the other, and means pivotally supporting the rear end of the door, said door supporting means engaging the end guide to the rear of the door and positioned to project the rear end of the door forwardly beyond the curved guide-connecting portion into the angleformed by the end wall and front of the case, when the door is in closed position.

In testimony whereof I have hereuntoset my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANDREW E. MILLER. Witnesses 7 WM. S. Honors, CHAS. E. RmRDoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents- Washington, I). C. 

